OurMovieNights
Sword of the Beast (1965) (1965) poster

1965 · action · drama

Sword of the Beast (1965)

Directed by Hideo Gosha1h 25m1965

Legendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Gosha's Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor that he decides to live in the wild, like an animal. There he joins up with a motley group who are illegally mining the shogun’s gold, and, with the aid of another swordsman, gets a chance not just at survival but to recover his name and honor.

Our read: Sword of the Beast (1965) (1965) reads as a heavy, steady, grounded action · drama entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.

Movie DNA

Heavy, steady, measured action / drama, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold.

ElsewhereTMDB7.576
  • heavy
  • intense
  • bleak
  • cold
Video previewNo trailer available for this one.
Game · before you press play

Watching Sword of the Beast tonight? Spin for your lens.

Everyone on the couch spins once and gets one craft to watch for. After the credits, compare what you caught.

Your lens for tonight

?

Everyone on the couch gets one craft to watch for. Spin the wheel to get yours. Sound on: the narrator reads your mission.

Where to watch
All options on JustWatch

Availability in the US · via JustWatch

More info & search links
Where the cast leads
DNA · twelve axes

How Sword of the Beast feels to watch.

Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.

MoodHeavy ↔ Cosy
PacingSlow-burn ↔ Kinetic
IntensityGentle ↔ Extreme
WeirdnessConventional ↔ Surreal
HopeNihilistic ↔ Redemptive
StakesIntimate ↔ Epic
HumourNone ↔ Broad
RealityGrounded ↔ Fantastical
DensitySparse ↔ Twisty
WarmthCold ↔ Tender
AuteurTransparent ↔ Signature
Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

“You want 1960s Japanese samurai action about a betrayed ronin surviving in the wild with gold miners.”

ends bittersweetit stays with yousteady all the waygrips by minute 6attention 3/5breezes bysubtitles: full
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around
Heads-upnudity

Skip it tonight — Skip if you want English-language dialogue or contemporary action speed.

Nearest by DNA

Eight films that feel like this one.

Closest in the twelve-axis space, not “people also liked”. All films like Sword of the Beast, with why →

Your take
Rate it
star-clip-1-0star-clip-2-0star-clip-3-0star-clip-4-0star-clip-5-0
React
Discussion

Discussion

cmd enter to post

Make it a movie night.

Pick a mood, get a film the whole couch will enjoy, and give everyone something to watch for.

Pick tonight's film →
Watching with your partner?Play this film’s board